Asahi Group Holdings (AGH) announces that after a very successful career spanning 19 years with Asahi Europe & International (AEI) and its former corporate entity SABMiller, CEO Paolo Lanzarotti has decided to take early retirement from full-time executive activity effective 31st March 2025. Concurrently, we are pleased to announce Paolo’s successor in the CEO role as Dragos Constantinescu, current Managing Director of AEI’s Czechia, Slovakia, Germany and Austria Cluster which includes Plzeňský Prazdroj.
Paolo has been an integral part of Asahi since joining Birra Peroni in Italy in 2005 as Strategic Planning Director, where he quickly progressed into the role of Sales Director. His career flourished as he moved to Slovakia as Managing Director for a short time before moving to India as Managing Director. On his return to Europe in 2014, Paolo was appointed Managing Director of Czechia and Slovakia, leading the turnaround of the business and the successful integration of the two entities.
During the transition from SABMiller, and through the AB InBev period, Paolo headed up our Central European cluster and led the successful sale process to Asahi, being retained as the CEO for the new entity. Over the past seven years, Paolo has overseen the successful growth of our AEI markets, and over the past four years he has led the combined AEI business and its remit for European production markets and international export markets excluding Japan and Oceania. Over that time, he has helped navigate AEI through uniquely challenging periods including the COVID pandemic, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and periods of massive macro-economic turbulence. He has done this while continuing to invest in, and drive our Planet, People, Non- Alcoholic and Global Brands agenda, overseeing significant growth in North America and Asia and the acquisition of Asahi’s first production facility in the USA.
Paolo will leave an indelible mark on Asahi, in particular his energy, passion in leading Asahi Europe & International as a purpose-led business, championing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and creating meaningful connections with people and planet for a more sustainable future.
Effective 1st April, Dragos Constantinescu will assume the role of CEO, Asahi Europe & International. Dragos is a seasoned international leader who joined Asahi in 2019 as Managing Director for Ursus Breweries (Romania) & Dreher Breweries (Hungary) prior to being appointed as Managing Director for the Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, and Austria cluster in 2021.
Dragos started his career in British American Tobacco (BAT) in the Netherlands in 2002 and spent 17 years in various finance and General Management roles across multiple countries in Europe. Prior to joining Asahi, Dragos served as the Area Director for Central Europe for BAT.
Dragos brings a wealth of business experience and a strong drive for results, combined with multiple cultural perspectives gained from his roles across Europe. He is deeply passionate about advancing Asahi’s business performance through innovation, our iconic brands and people. As a strong advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion he is equally committed to advancing to driving progress on our sustainability agenda, for which both Plzeňský Prazdroj and Asahi are recognized.
